Consulting is another area in which you can make use of your existing skills. Diana Melencio spent eight years working on Wall Street, and later used her financial background to her advantage, working as an independent financial consultant. This side business enabled her to follow her passion and to start OkMyOutfit, an online styling and shopping platform.

If you have marketable skills as a developer, designer, or online marketer, there's an online audience who’d be willing to pay for your expertise, in order to become experts, too. Start by testing your way into the market on Udemy or Skillshare, where there’s already an existing audience for career-related courses. As you build your brand, aim for teaching on higher-visibility online education platforms like CreativeLive.

Additionally, business owners who start this type of business are in good company. Not only do many people have successful children’s book businesses today, but one of the most successful children’s authors in modern history began by self-publishing her work. Beatrix Potter funded the first runs of both Peter Rabbit and The Tailor of Gloucester. The two stories are popular even to this day.
Virtual reality is a huge field of growth in the tech world, with potential applications in education, medicine, and, of course, entertainment. Everyone wants to explore new worlds, and VR headsets and goggles allow consumers to do exactly that. There are a various types of these products available, so it helps to be knowledgeable about the different brands and how they work.
Craft fairs are also a great side hustle. I do very well at high end, handmade only craft fairs and festivals. Its a marketplace that attracts people who prefer handmade and have the income to easily afford high end crafts. I am a baker/food crafter (not the same as a food vendor. Food crafts are jams, sauces, cookies, breads, toffee, honey, maple syrup, etc. – foods made at a kitchen and brought to the event, not prepared at the event like sandwiches and burgers, etc, made by food vendors). I make hand made baking mixes, an oatmeal bar cookie in 4 flavors and a gluten free truffle cookie in 3 flavors. As with farmers markets, craft fairs mean immediate cash. I accept credit cards, too. No waiting for a paycheck to come, as my hubbie is paid by-weekly.
If you own a camera, starting a freelance portrait photography business could be a very natural way to turn your skills and passions into a profitable business idea. Start with doing free shoots for friends and family to build up a strong online portfolio, get familiar with your gear and the editing process, then you'll be able to get paid for photographing professional head shots and celebratory family moments as your side business idea. Get started by checking out this men's portrait photography class that regularly broadcasts for free on CreativeLive. Plus, once you have all the photography gear, you can earn a little extra side income by renting it out when you're not using it through online marketplaces like Fat Lama.
Photography Tip: If you plan on selling your photography on a stock photo site, it’s a numbers game. The more pictures you take and upload, the better chance you are to be found. You’ll need to make sure you use the right tags so that people can easily find your photos. The more pictures you take, the faster you’ll develop your photography skills over time. So it’s an all around win.
40 Selling ad space on a personal blog This is not a big money-earner to start with but could be if you work at it, reckons Birtles. "Set up your own blog (do it for free with blogger.com) and fill it with great writing, photos, videos and anything else you're passionate about," she advises. "Get ads automatically through Google Adsense and make a few pence every time someone clicks on an ad."
Home tutoring allows you to offer individualized lessons to students of all ages regarding any special skill sets that you have. A good home tutoring business is flexible because your students will have very different needs: some are struggling with classes in school, some are studying for college entrance exams, and others may be adult learners who need to master certain skills to benefit their employment.

Live in a destination where travelers frequently visit? If you love meeting new people from around the world and also love the city you live in, starting your own local tour company is arguably the best business idea that will give you both of those perks. Take a unique spin on your local tour business like Erik from Vantigo. He was starting his VW van tour business in San Francisco as just a side business idea while he was still working a full-time job, and grew it to being a sustainable source of full-time income before quitting—now he's running a multiple van tour company on the back of what originally began as a crazy side business idea.

Most Instagram users find themselves using the app in their free time. When you get off work, the last thing on your mind is working more, but using Instagram feels more like fun than hard work. As you spend some time creating the perfect post, you could be earning some major coin from the business whose product/service you’re advertising, and it’ll take very little of your time to do.

As you can see, you don't have to spend thousands of dollars to start a side business. The 11 ideas above only scratch the surface of the types of side business you can start to make extra money. Plus, who knows? You might even be able to turn your side hustle into a full-time career today. Start small with an equally small investment, and see where it takes you!

Crafts are a great way for parents to entertain their children and encourage them to be creative, but it’s not always easy to come up with new projects in the moment. Selling templates of images that children can trace or attempt to draw on their own can be a fun side business and a popular product. You can put together themed template-books, along with guides that teach children how to make various types of crafts.
How much money can you make as a virtual assistant? Most virtual assistants trade their time for money so you might get capped based on the number of hours of work you can do each week. You can choose to set a total monthly earning or get paid by the hour. Some make minimum wage while others might make $35 an hour depending on their skills and experience.

If you own a camera, starting a freelance portrait photography business could be a very natural way to turn your skills and passions into a profitable business idea. Start with doing free shoots for friends and family to build up a strong online portfolio, get familiar with your gear and the editing process, then you'll be able to get paid for photographing professional head shots and celebratory family moments as your side business idea. Get started by checking out this men's portrait photography class that regularly broadcasts for free on CreativeLive. Plus, once you have all the photography gear, you can earn a little extra side income by renting it out when you're not using it through online marketplaces like Fat Lama.

Successful ghostwriters must like to work in the background and have no interest in gaining popularity through writing. They need to be adaptable and flexible, both in their writing style and their work schedule. At the same time, ghostwriters require the self-discipline to remain on task and see a project through by delivering exactly what they promise.
It’s not the sort of side business idea that’s covered in glory, but someone needs to make sure all the numbers add up at the end of the year. Every business and most individuals need someone with the domain expertise to help prepare tax returns, especially time or resource-strapped small business owners. Majo Jacinto in his Udemy course provides an in-depth foundational understanding of how to prepare tax returns (and stay current with ever-changing laws) that'll certify you with tax prep skills in as little as a few hours of training and practice. Then once tax season rolls around you'll be able to charge an average of $229 per return as a freelance tax preparer with this side business idea, according to CNBC.
You can choose to do custom gift baskets, or have a few themed options for customers to pick from. Make sure your baskets are aesthetically pleasing, and build your store to include high-quality photos and clear descriptions of each product. Consider offering promotions for holidays, and giving discounts to repeat customers. Most importantly, get creative and have fun.
I didn't even know if I were capable of "creating a second income," but I feel confident, after reading this book, that yes, indeed, I can do just that. The book is divided by chapters, then sections of chapters, such as "Starting the Right Side Business," and then goes on to list and provide information about common side businesses that one might consider when choosing the right one for oneself.
A sports photography business owner should find excitement in watching all types of sporting events. An owner should get a thrill from capturing awesome action shots that freeze important moments in sporting history. If you share these passions and would like to share your excitement with all those who see your photos, then starting a sports photography business is perfect for you.
You can have your own store up in only a few minutes at eBay. To start, you must have a seller account, must be verified through PayPal. You are even able to give a detailed description of your store with a catchy design to attract customers. I have a friend who will buy all of the unused bras at a last chance type of store and resell them for a profit at her eBay store. Last I heard, she was doing $1,000/month in her first couple of months.

As for other tips, all I can say is “a penny saved is a penny earned”. If you are running out of ideas to make money, start saving. Some quick “low hanging fruit” tips to save some quick cash include – switch to MetroPCS or Boost for cellphone (I only pay $20/month), switch auto insurance to Insurance Panda ($25/month), and start using GasBuddy (saves me like $100/month at least. I drive a lot).